Whole Energy Fuels Corp., headquartered in Bellingham, Wash., is constructing a new distribution terminal in Portland, Ore. The new terminal will provide convenient service to public and private fleets and regional fuel distribution customers with affordably priced neat biodiesel and fuel blends. The Whole Energy Portland terminal will reduce the total life-cycle cost of providing biodiesel in a sustainable business model that employs vertical integration of raw materials, manufacturing and distribution. Whole Energy will enable a more transparent market with better end-user pricing. Whole Energy serves end users from Vancouver, Canada, to San Diego and is strengthening its presence in Portland by integrating Oregon operations with Beaver Biodiesel and Oregon Oils. All three businesses are co-located in the same facility creating a new industry template for biorefining and distribution.
 Biodiesel Industries of Ventura LLC, a subsidiary of Biodico, has been named in a Notice of Proposed Award from the California Energy Commission for a $2 million grant. The grant proposal project will use renewable energy and innovative feedstocks to produce biodiesel at Biodico&rsquo;s 10 MMgy facility under construction in Port Hueneme, Calif. The objective is to produce all of its process heat and energy onsite from renewable resources, and to use innovative approaches to cultivate low-impact feedstocks for biodiesel production. A suite of three technologies, including solar, cogeneration gasification and anaerobic digestion, will be used for process heat and power. Another key to reducing the carbon footprint of biofuels is the use of appropriate inedible, low-impact feedstocks.
 Pacific Biodiesel announced the appointment of Kimberly Haueisen to the new position of grants director. Based at the company&rsquo;s Maui headquarters, her responsibilities will include the oversight of all major grant projects, including compliance, new grant applications and public relations components. Haueisen joins the Pacific Biodiesel team having served the Maui Economic Development Board as program director for more than three years. A Maui resident since 1994, she is a graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University and has completed graduate course work from both Penn State and the University of Phoenix. Prior to moving to Maui, Haueisen was Global Alliance Manager for Segue Software Inc., and worked as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. Armed Services.
 BASF announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its QTA Quality Trait Analysis division in an asset sale to a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurofins Scientific Inc., located in Des Moines, Iowa. BASF will transfer approximately 10 employees. Eurofins will enter into a supplier agreement with BASF to provide QTA service continuously to BASF. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. The QTA system is a patented analytical service that enables client companies to quickly and easily test the quality of products and materials, with a high degree of reliability and accuracy. After its foundation by Cognis Corp. in 2001, the QTA business quickly expanded its scope of business, serving stakeholders in multiple industry segments, including grains and seeds, biodiesel, food ingredients, pesticides, chemicals, plastics, and fabrics. The QTA division was part of BASF&rsquo;s acquisition of Cognis in 2010.
 Netherlands-based BioMCN signed an agreement with commodity supplier ED&amp;F Man for the sourcing, risk management and delivery of crude glycerin produced as a byproduct of biodiesel. The glycerin will be sourced from Argentina, one of the world&rsquo;s top biodiesel-producing nations. BioMCN converts crude glycerin into biobased methanol. BioMCN purchased two existing, adjacent methanol plants several years ago. While the formerly idle facilities were first designed to convert natural gas into methanol, BioMCN has retrofitted the site to produce biobased methanol via the conversion of crude glycerin. BioMCN currently has 200,000 metric tons of capacity online. A second stage of development, expected to be complete in 2013, will double that. Plans are also in the works to develop a separate facility that would take in woody biomass as feedstock to produce biobased methanol.
 Mission NewEnergy Ltd. announced acquisition of an 85 percent stake in Singapore-based Oleovest Pte Ltd., which holds a 70 percent equity stake in PT Sinergi Oleo Nusantara, an Indonesian joint venture company that is 30 percent owned by PT Perkebunan Nusantara III. Mission NewEnergy has traditionally been involved in jatropha cultivation. PTSON will establish a new downstream palm oil and oleochemical complex under the joint venture agreement. The complex will be located at the PTPN III-owned Sei Mangkei Industrial Zone in North Sumatra. The first stage of the project is expected to include the development of a 600,000 ton edible oil refinery, a 250,000 ton (75 MMgy) biodiesel plant and a 100,000 ton fatty alcohol plant. Information released by Mission NewEnergy noted that the $200 million project will require arranging approximately $140 million in debt financing and $60 million in equity before construction begins. Mission NewEnergy will initially invest $3 million to acquire the 80 percent stake in Oleovest and fund the initial operations of PT Sinergi Oleo Nusantara.

Business Briefs

Upcoming Events

North American SAF Conference & Expo

2026 International Biomass Conference & Expo